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breakfast/lunch

Old 08-10-10 | 01:22 PM
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breakfast/lunch

i'm curious, what do you guys do about breakfast? i'm not sure whether to eat before i go or bring something with?

also, does anyone else bring a lunch with? what do you bring and how do you keep it from getting crushed?
(in high school i brought peanut butter sandwiches and a couple pieces of fruit)
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Old 08-10-10 | 01:29 PM
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How long is your commute? I usually don't eat before I ride in, but by the time I get to work I'm hungry so I eat a banana, shower, and then have a muffin/scone or something similar at my desk.

I bring my lunch with me in a regular insulated lunch bag. It fits in my backpack or panniers. If you put the food in a hard plastic container (there are some big enough to hold a sandwich) it won't get crushed.
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Old 08-10-10 | 01:46 PM
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It will really depend on what you prefer, and its usually trial and error. I have oatmeal and a protien shake for breakfast. Some just want coffee. Others have a huge breakfast with sausage, eggs, toast, juice, etc.. Some don't eat until after they get to work.

I bring my own lunch which is usually brocolli and a hamburger. I also bring an apple as a snack. I will sometimes bring PB&J as well. I have some sterlite locking containers that I got from walmart that work pretty well.
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Old 08-10-10 | 01:47 PM
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My usual breakfast is a smoothie: a banana, blueberries, rice protein powder, chia seeds and unsweetened rice milk. It doesn't bother me when riding, but drinking coffee does. So I skip coffee on ride mornings and drink tea later at work instead. My lunch is usually leftovers. I just carry those in a Tupperware sort of container inside a plastic bag in case it leaks.
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Old 08-10-10 | 01:51 PM
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I ride 20 miles to work. So, I eat before either a Almond butter and jam sandwich on whole grain bread or a bananna. At work I eat a bowl of oatmeal with milk and frut. Lunch just have regular, about 500 cal, and then have a snack of apple / fruit / nuts and then eat a normal dinner.
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Old 08-10-10 | 02:09 PM
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I ride 14 miles to work, I choose not to eat before my ride but do drink a ton of water (80 oz to be exact) heading to work which keeps the hunger down. By the time I arrive @ work, I will have a bowl of oatmeal w/raisins (oatmeal is stored in my drawer inside a protein jug), I will pack my lunch into my rack bag which fits my work clothes & security lock/cable, and eat a small snack or protein shake before I ride back home.
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Old 08-10-10 | 02:20 PM
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I eat before I leave, usually granola and fruit (I make my own granola). But I make my coffee at work. I grind enough coffee for two cups and take it with me, then make it with a Melitta pour-over at my desk. I bring a sandwich and fruit for lunch most days. Sometimes lunch is dinner leftovers. I take everything in a trunk bag.
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Old 08-10-10 | 02:32 PM
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Oatmeal or granola for breakfast, banana and sometimes trail mix around 10 am. Lunch is leftovers or a grilled cheese sandwich, with some sort of fruit/veg (usually an apple or salad.) I have glass containers with a locking lid which haven't leaked yet (2 years), so I bring soup or chili or whatever I feel like, really. 40L panniers swallow lunch, clothes, shoes, lock etc pretty easily.
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Old 08-10-10 | 02:34 PM
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I can't eat for an hour or two after I get up, it unsettles my stomach, so I guess it's good that I have such a short ride. I usually get coffee and a piece of fruit or a pile of bacon from the cafeteria an hour or so after I get in, and I tend to keep fixings for a full week of lunch in a desk drawer -- i schlep it in on monday
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Old 08-10-10 | 02:54 PM
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Breakfast is peanut butter on wheat toast and lots of water. Lunch can be anything from PB&J sandwich with some fruit to left-overs from the previous night's dinner.
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Old 08-10-10 | 03:03 PM
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My commute is about 1 hour. Bowl of Quaker instant oatmeal with dried fruit added when I get to work.
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Old 08-10-10 | 03:13 PM
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My commute varies so I eat accordingly. If it is a short commute I will eat some Red Vines or Skittles and a piece of fruit. If it is longer. I will eat some sort of bread and fruit chased down by the candy and tea.
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Old 08-10-10 | 04:56 PM
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Always have a breakfast, it's the most important meal of a day. Going on an empty stomach is a nice way to a Bonk.
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Old 08-10-10 | 05:08 PM
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Originally Posted by jasonvelo
i'm curious, what do you guys do about breakfast? i'm not sure whether to eat before i go or bring something with?

also, does anyone else bring a lunch with? what do you bring and how do you keep it from getting crushed?
(in high school i brought peanut butter sandwiches and a couple pieces of fruit)
I always eat breakfast in the morning. I'm up about an hour before I have to leave and usually eat breakfast about 30 minutes before I start pedaling. Usually it's some carbohydrate rich something with a small glass of milk. I learned long ago not to eat cereal and milk but that may just be me. There's no magic formula for everyone. Just find what works for you.

As for lunch, I hate sandwiches so I carry leftovers from dinners that my wife and I cook. I use a plastic container to carry it and have never had a problem with leakage or with spoilage (on the bike anyway) I've don't have problems with anything freezing in the winter time either, even when I ride far below freezing. If I happen to drive, I'll take some extra lunches in along with any other items I don't want to carry.

I usually carry apples and the occasional orange for fruit. Other fruits just don't work all that well. Peaches, plums, pears, etc. are too soft to carry and they bruise easily. Peaches...at least the ones that are properly ripe...will turn to peach juice even when carried on top of padding. That padding is usually covered in smooshed peaches. Since the padding is usually what I wear to work, I'd rather not be coverd in smooshed peaches If you want soft fruit, drive it to work.
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Old 08-10-10 | 05:39 PM
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Lately, I get up, get on my stuff, do a 20-25 mile ride.

Come home, grab a cuppa joe - shower - ride to work (4-7 miles depending on route/weather).

Start the coffee pot have some toast and a banana with said coffee.

Lunch is generally leftovers from the night before. I'm apparently the only person in the house that's not above eating leftovers. If I don't eat it, it gets thrown out.
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Old 08-10-10 | 05:45 PM
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Nothing says breakfast like Red Vines & Skittles.

Let it be said right now, Red Vines beat twizzlers, any day of the week.
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Old 08-10-10 | 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Kojak
Nothing says breakfast like Red Vines & Skittles.

Let it be said right now, Red Vines beat twizzlers, any day of the week.
Twizzlers are the biggest mistake in the candy aisle.
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Old 08-10-10 | 06:28 PM
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breakfast......90% of the time oatmeal (not cooked) or granola, with a yogurt poured over and stirred (not shaken) let sit 5 minutes.

lunch varies. leftovers (I like the pyrex bowl with plastic lid...I avoid microwaving food in plastic), salad (chinese chicken most often) or a sandwich (leftover chicken, or sliced ham, turkey....sometimes almond butter and jam)

bring a piece or two of fruit in.

just throw in a reusuable grocery bag and throw in the rear basket.
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Old 08-10-10 | 06:31 PM
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Was eating a banana or light yogurt for breakfast. No am leaning towards cereal with no sugar and a yogurt when I arrive. 12 miles in, 18 back.
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Old 08-10-10 | 06:40 PM
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I usually wake up starving since I don't eat full dinners, so I eat a regular breakfast before leaving, but I give myself at least 30 minutes after eating before hopping on the bike. Nothing special: black tea, multi-grain toasts with cream cheese, yogurt, banana, sometimes boiled or scrambled eggs. I sometimes bring lunch with me, sometimes eat out, depends on the situation, mood, etc. One thing I noticed is that I eat less on a normal day since I started commuting by bike.
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Old 08-10-10 | 07:04 PM
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I work literally right next to a grocery store, so I get something for breakfast after my ride, but I would still eat after even if I had to bring my breakfast. I don't like riding on a full stomach, although, if i'm feeling sluggish, I might pound an energy gel to make it to work. But I ALWAYS eat breakfast.

For lunch, I usually eat out with my coworkers.. if for some reason I do bring lunch, it's in a plastic container, or an old fashioned metal lunchbox (messenger bags are roomy) to keep from getting crushed in my bag.

Last edited by bhop; 08-10-10 at 07:08 PM.
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Old 08-10-10 | 09:00 PM
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Total dork here. I bring breakfast and lunch every day, whether riding or not. When riding, the food goes in one pannier and my purse in the other. If you browse the Container Store, Target or any Ace Hardware you'll find a plethora of food container shapes and sizes. Snapware rules because it prevents spillage. As mentioned on a Simple Living thread, this Salad Shaker changed my life. It's also a great conversation-starter! For breakfast, I have a small stainless-steel container that holds oatmeal, nuts and fruit. Also a big fan of the nut butter/jam sandwich as it can be breakfast, lunch or snack.

Most important is to do as much prep the night before as possible. This includes making the salad and even cutting up the fruit for the oatmeal. Grab-and-go is the only way that works for me.
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Old 08-10-10 | 10:03 PM
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Good grief! A lot of you guys have too much time on your hands.

Breakfast is whatever the kids are having - scrambled eggs with American cheese melted on top (my five-year-old's favorite), cereal, yogurt (yes, the kind that comes in a squeeze tube), cold pizza from last night, or occasionally nothing at all. I do better on my ride (8 miles one way) when I eat breakfast, and even when I hammer the whole time (which is basically every day) I don't have trouble with my stomach after a substantial breakfast. If I don't eat at home, I have to take something to work - I'll fade by 11:00 or so if I don't.

Lunch varies. The last few weeks it's been sandwiches (turkey and pastrami on deli rolls this week, with cheddar or baby Swiss and either deli mustard or horseradish mustard), but sometimes it's packaged Asian food from Trader Joe's, or noodle cups, or pizza, or leftovers, or whatever else I can scrounge up in the fridge. On days when I drive, I tend to take in a bunch of stuff with a long shelf life to keep in my desk, so if I forget lunch or get rushed and don't have time to make it I can dip into my emergency rations. I tend to take two or three pieces of fruit - bananas, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, grapes, apples, cantaloupe (no, not the whole thing, silly!). Lunch tends to be all that's in my panniers except on Mondays when I take all my clothes for the week in, so I don't worry too much about things getting smooshed, but soft fruit goes into a Ziploc bag in case it leaks. If I put it in the fridge when I get there, even if it gets pretty badly mashed on the way in it's still fine to eat at lunchtime. Often that's it for lunch - a sandwich and two or three pieces of fruit, but sometimes I'll add some chips, avocados, or whatever else sounds appealing for a side dish.
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Old 08-10-10 | 10:47 PM
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Raisin Bran with a banana and soy milk plus an english muffin at 6am. Stop on the way to work for coffee. Bagel and yogurt at 9 am. 2 sandwiches, an apple and a Monster for lunch. Clif bar and apple around 2 pm.

I throw all the food in a plastic grocery bag and put it in my backpack. I'm used to smashed sandwiches from carrying them in my back pocket on road rides.
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Old 08-10-10 | 10:50 PM
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Wow so many healthy eaters here. I wake up at noon so I immediately go to lunch consisting of a sandwich of some sort or pizza. Also have a major sweet tooth so I usually have some chocolate or candy with juice to go with it.
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